3 September 2015

Bioplastics Organisations Network Europe launched

European Bioplastics and national organisations join forces to promote bioplastics in Europe

The Bioplastics Organisations Network Europe (BON Europe) is a newly formed collaboration of national bioplastics organisations from across Europe. BON Europe was launched in summer 2015 with the mission to connect initiatives around the bioplastics industry on EU level and in the Member States. The BON Europe partner organisations represent companies that produce, convert or use bioplastics that are biobased, biodegradable or both, as well as upstream and downstream sectors, such as agriculture and waste management. The founding members include: Belgian BioPackaging (Belgium), Club Bio-plastiques (France), Der Verbund kompostierbare Produkte (Germany), Holland Bioplastics (The Netherlands), and Nordisk Bioplastförening (Nordic countries). European Bioplastics (EUBP) acts as the umbrella organisation and coordinates the BON network.

“The main objective of BON Europe is to push for an economically and politically favourable landscape for bioplastics in Europe”, says François de Bie, Chairman of European Bioplastics. “This includes promoting legislative measures to encourage market uptake and eco-design of products, equal access as well as use of responsibly sourced renewable raw materials, as well as promoting an efficient waste management infrastructure throughout Europe that supports separate biowaste collection and organic recycling.”

With a current production capacity of almost one percent of global plastic production and a growth rate of at least 20 percent per year, bioplastics are an innovative sector that can drive economic development and employment in Europe. Bioplastics can contribute to reduce Europe’s dependency on fossil resources and to reduce European greenhouse gas emissions by driving the development of a biobased circular economy.

“Over the coming years, we will work together on answering vital questions and developing joint statements regarding standardisation, sourcing of biomass, end-of-life-options, and sustainability assessment of bioplastics in order to strengthen our position in negotiations and lobbying activities on EU and Member State level and to achieve the best possible progress of the industry”, says Hasso von Pogrell, Managing Director of European Bioplastics.